The European Employment Strategy and the open method of coordination: lessons and perspectives

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Abstract
Since its last Congress in Helsinki, the ETUC has witnessed the appearance of a new regulatory mode, the open method of coordination (OMC), the most notable use of which has been in the European Employment Strategy (EES). This article successively explains the reasons for creating the EES, gives an account of its strength as an OMC tool but also of the contentious issues behind it, and describes its achievements and shortcomings on the basis of the evaluation after five years by the European Commission. The article concludes by reflecting upon the future development of the EES and the challenges for EU social partners, in particular the ETUC.